The Dogs of Toronto Animal Services South

Winston is a bug Pug with a big bowling ball head which surprisingly doesn't make him tip over forwards because if I my head were a bowling ball that's what I'd be doing all the time.

I suppose drinking lots of whiskey would do the same thing - not that I'd know - but at least with a bowling ball head, one would have a plausible excuse for being tipsy.

"Oops, sorry for knocking you over, miss, but I've got a bowling ball head you see," one could say when knocking someone over at a party and what an introduction that would be.

Winston needs no such ploys to introduce himself. He is a wheezing, snorting, garumphing li'l feller which is cute and very attention grabbing and all but I know if he were sleeping anywhere near me, I'd need one of those noise canceling headphones, preferably one of the newer models because I hear some of the older versions couldn't cancel out a fart from an ant. Stenotic nares is unfortunately not Winston's only problem. He's also got some neural disorder - maybe genetic, maybe from an accident, maybe from living in a cage for too long - which makes him walk funny and thus he drags his feet until the tops of them are bloody. He may also have a chronic cherry eye problem.

Winston came from a puppy mill. Puppy millers are such assholes. Really, they are the sphincters of the dog breeding world. Mr. and Mrs. Sphincter - proudly combining the stink of filthy lucre with the stink of animal abuse. How lovely. Sphincter Family Farms here to serve the Kijiji dog buying public with five hundred plus neglected dogs crying and dying in cages but, hell, no one will ever know, just wash the sickly thing in the sink before the customer shows up, tie a ribbon round its head and, snap, that's a thousand bucks in the bank and then don't forget to give the buyer that "official" certificate the Sphincters' talented progeny banged out on his computer last night between cruising on Facebook for naked pictures of his classmates and porn surfing.

It's unlikely Winston would've made it into general adoption with his health issues. That would've sucked because despite it all, despite all his ailments and worries and ongoing concerns, Winston is a stupendously adorable pooch. His personality is big and wonderful and he's a pro when it comes to getting human affection. Just ask one of TAS' brilliant volunteers. She's offered to foster Winston to try to figure out how to deal with all his various ailments.

Winston's only been with her for a couple of days now but I hear her boyfriend is already in lurve with the bug Pug. She's promising pictures soon.

8 Comments to “Winston - Black Pug”

Love that last photo! As you said about Cini, "It's no wonder we fall for these brave, strong creatures who don't let even broken bones dampen their spirit as long as they have our company." Whatever his problems, he looks like a little guy who is ready to love the first person who gives him a smile.

Hi Fred - Winston is adorable! Just wanted to let you know they make custom booties for dogs with his neurological problem. The booties make them hold the foot properly. The problem is they are custom made from a mold of the foot so they can be $$. We had one made for our dog that had the same problem (her neuro problem miraculously went away and she no longer needs it) They could also look at just regular doggy weather boots or plastic braces - anything that holds the foot in the proper position. We made a lot of our own prototypes...

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A request

The reason for this blog is to help get specific dogs adopted from TAS but equally important is to try to normalize the idea of shelter dogs being just as good and just as desirable as any other dogs including those which are regularly merchandised by backyard breeders, puppy millers and those few remaining pet store owners who still feel a need to sell live animals. The single greatest stigma shelter animals still face is the belief that shelter animals are substandard animals. Anyone who has had enough experience with shelter animals knows this is untrue but the general public hasn't had the same experiences you've had. They see a nice dog photo in a glossy magazine and too many of them would never think of associating that dog with a dog from a shelter. After all, no one abandons perfectly good dogs, right? Unfortunately, as we all know, perfectly good dogs are abandoned all the time.

The public still too often associates shelter dogs with images of beat up, sick, dirty, severely traumatized animals and while we definitely sometimes see victims such as these, they are certainly not the majority and, regardless, even the most abused animals can very often be saved and made whole again.

Pound Dogs sometimes discusses the sad histories some of the dogs have suffered. For the most part, though, it tries to present the dogs not as victims but as great potential family members. The goal is to raise the profiles of animals in adoption centers so that a potential pet owner sees them as the best choice, not just as the charity choice.

So, here's the favour I'm asking. Whenever you see a dog picture on these pages you think is decent enough, I'd like you to consider sharing it on Facebook or any other social media sites you're using (I know many of you do this already and thank you for that). And when you share it, please mention that the dog in the photo is a shelter dog like so many other shelter dogs waiting for a home. If we can get even five percent of the pet buying public to see shelter dogs differently, to see how beautiful they are and how wonderful they are, and to consider shelter dogs as their first choice for a new family member, we can end the suffering of homeless pets in this country.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------